


Stay

by autisticanakin



Series: Drabbles of the Old Republic [4]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-08 05:18:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17975171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/autisticanakin/pseuds/autisticanakin
Summary: The after effects of facing off Thanaton are sharper than Zora had expected.





	Stay

"It's me! You're safe, Sith. No one's gonna hurt you."

The words rang like thunder in Zora's ears, the voice far too close. She lashed out, still in the grip of the nightmare, her hand pushing a force blast in the direction of the intruder. Andronikos easily sidestepped the sloppy aim.

_ Andronikos. Shit. _

"I- I'm .... What?" Zora asked, in confusion, still groggy, not fully awake, and disoriented.

"You're safe. We're on the ship. You were having some kind of .. fit," said the figure still outlined in the dark. Zora groaned and with a gesture of her hand, turned the lights on to a dim setting. Andronikos was in sleep pants, but looked fully awake. He usually kept late nights, she had noticed. She was shaking.  _ Why am I shaking? _

Flashbacks poured over her like hot metal, and she shivered, cowering instinctively. _ No, no. This isn't happening. I had this under control. _

But with Thanaton ... everything that happened ... she was losing that control.

"Hey," Andronikos said, and she could hear the hint of worry in his voice. Her eyes flashed back to him from where she'd been zoning out and halfway sucked into her dreams again. Her bed creaked slightly as Andronikos sat on the side of it.

"Breathe. Breathe, okay? I'm not gonna lose you here, on the Forcedamned ship after all we've done." His voice was gravelly.  _ Soothing, though. _

He wasn't the ruthless pirate Zash had first made him out to be. He never had been. Years in slavery taught you to have a good reading on most people in the galaxy. Andronikos wasn't a saint, but he wasn't going to hurt her, either. He had never hesitated in protecting her.

"Come on. Breathe," he reminded her again, his hand going to her bare arm. With a start, she processed the words and realized she was hyperventilating. Closing her eyes wasn't an option, as she usually did to pull herself into a calm mindset. She focused on the pirate instead as he rubbed her shoulder slowly, her breathing matching the rhythm. Their gazes locked, and he became an anchor point to hold onto.

"Andronikos?" she asked, still confused and feeling misplaced, her thoughts struggling to keep up.

"That's what they call me," he shrugged, a hint of a smile on his lips. She blinked a few times, but was quickly relaxing, her shoulders slumping. She wasn't going to go back to sleep. Not now. But exhaustion weighed heavily on her. She rubbed at her eyes, leaning against his touch against her arm.

"You okay?" he asked, almost hesitantly. Zora gave a false nod, and he moved his hand away, going to stand before she grabbed his wrist, startling him as he turned his head back and his eyes met hers once more, brow wrinkled.

"Stay. Please," she said, the plea feeling sour on her tongue. _ Too passive. Slaves say please. Not Sith. _

Andronikos didn't focus in on it though, and one of his eyebrows raised. "Yeah?" he asked, not seeming to know how to react to her request.

_ Oh, fuck it. _

Zora pulled him to her and arms were immediately around her as he settled in beside her. She closed her eyes, head buried against his shoulder, her heartbeat evening out as she listened to his, being careful of not poking him with her horns.

Andronikos cleared his throat before speaking. "Won't ask, Sith, but you can talk if you want. I'm a pretty good listener."

"I just ... just  _ stay _ ," she breathed out. His hand rubbed her back as he laid down and she went with him. Saying thanks to this would seem awkward, so she didn't. Just as telling him her nightmares would be awkward, so she didn't.


End file.
